Category Archives: Additional

Air Mechanic, Berkshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Air Force, story, Surrey, Sussex, war

Air Mechanic 1st Class William Pomeroy

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Air Mechanic 1st Class William Pomeroy

William Carrow D. Pomeroy was born at the start of 1892 in Worthing, West Sussex. One of six children, his mother was Sarah Pomeroy. She had been born in the Clifton area of Bristol, Gloucestershire, but by the time William was born, she had moved to Worthing.

According to the 1901 census, Sarah was a widow, and was running a lodging house at 3 Warwick Road. The next census return found the family living at the same address, where Sarah’s lodging house was now noted as being apartments.

William had completed his schooling by this point, and had found work as a cycle mechanic. His dedication and skill eventually took him to London, where, by the outbreak of war, he was employed as a mechanic with the London Fire Brigade in Southwark, Surrey.

The First World War brought new opportunities, and, on 14th January 1916, William enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps. Details of his military service are sketchy, but it is clear that he was an Air Mechanic 1st Class, and was based at in Reading, Berkshire.

Air Mechanic Pomeroy was transferred over to the Royal Air Force on its creation on 1st April 1918. Within weeks, however, he had been admitted to Reading War Hospital, suffering from pneumonia. The condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away on 18th July, at the age of 26 years old.

The funeral of First-Class Air Mechanic E [sic] Pomeroy, who died at Reading last week, from complications following an attack of influenza, took place at Broadwater Cemetery on Monday afternoon, with full Military honours.

The deceased, who was twenty-five years of age, was the son of the late Mr Pomeroy, well-known locally as a former Inspector of Weights and Measures.

[Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 24th July 1918]

William’s headstone gives his name as CDW Pomeroy. All other records, including the registration of his birth, give his name as William Carrow D Pomeroy. There is no record of what the D stood for.

Bugler, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, Sussex, unknown, war

Private Eric Fullilove

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Private Eric Fullilove

Eric William Fullilove was born in the Kent town of Deal on 25th April 1897. The middle of three children, his parents were Harry and Sarah Fullilove. Harry was a Sergeant in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, and by the turn of the century, the family had rooms at 16 Victoria Street, not far from the seafront.

Harry retired from military service, and the family moved to West Sussex. The 1911 census found the family living in a house on West Street in Worthing. Harry was now working as a bath attendant for the borough council, while Eric was being paid for being an errand boy when he wasn’t at school. The family had four visitors, Henry and Stanley Parsloe from Devon, and Florence and Margaret Gill from London.

Eric sought adventure in his life, and, on the day after his fourteenth birthday, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry as a Bugler. His service papers show that he was just 5ft (1.52m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion.

Bugler Fullilove was assigned to the newly commissioned HMS Princess Royal, and would remain attached to her for the next four years. n the spring of 1915, he moved ashore, and was based in barracks in Portsmouth, Hampshire. While there, he came of age, and formally inducted into the Royal Marines. Now a Private, his papers show that he had grown 8.5ins (22cm).

Over the next five years, Eric served on two different vessels, returning to his Hampshire base in between assignments. His annual reviews noted a very good character, and a satisfactory/superior ability. Private Fullilove survived the conflict, but his health seems to have been impacted, and he was invalided out of the service on 1st April 1920.

Eric William Fullilove returned home, and his trail goes cold. He passed away on 23rd August 1920, through causes unconfirmed: he was 23 years of age. He was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, to the north of Worthing, West Sussex.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Sussex Regiment, story, Surrey, Sussex, unknown, war

Private Frederick Searle

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Private Frederick Searle

Frederick George Searle was born in the Sussex village of Warminghurst in the spring of 1894. One of thirteen children, his parents were William and Annie Searle.

William was a carter, and moved the family to where the work was. The 1901 census found the Searles living in Wiggonholt, between Pulborough and Storrington. By 1911, however, they had moved south, and were living in a cottage on the golf links in Broadwater, to the north of Worthing.

By this point, William was employed as a carter at the golf course, while three of the Searle children were also working at the club. Frederick – now 16 years of age, was a caddie, while his older brothers did mainly grounds work.

As one of thirteen siblings, Frederick was keen to make his own mark on the world and, on 24th September 1912, he enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment. His papers show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, and weighed 121lbs (54.9kg). He had light brown hair, grey eyes, and a number of scars – two on his back, one on the left side of his head and one at the base of his right forefinger.

When war broke out, Private Searle’s unit – the 2nd Battalion – was sent to France. He survived the Battle of Mons and subsequent retreat, but was badly wounded in the left arm on 13th November 1914, and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. Frederick was moved to a depot while he recuperated, but because of his injury, he was formally discharged from the army on 30th April 1915.

Frederick returned to Sussex, and family life. In time, he took up his role on the golf club once more, but this seemed not to be enough for him. On 31st May 1917, he re-enlisted, joining the Mechanical Transport unit of the Army Service Corps as a Private. He was posted to Isleworth, Surrey, but his injury seemed to still be nagging at him. Despite his best efforts, and with the support of his superiors, at the end of August he took the decision to stand down, and was discharged from duty once more.

At this point, Frederick’s trail goes cold. What can be confirmed is that he passed away on 28th June 1919: he was 25 years of age.

The body of Frederick George Searle, former Private in two regiments, was laid to rest in the family plot in Broadwater Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, Sussex, war, Wiltshire

Private Charles Compton

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Private Charles Compton

Charles George Compton was born in the Broadwater area of Worthing, West Sussex in 1882. One of five children, his parents were Charles and Eliza Compton. Charles Sr was a shoe maker, but when he finished his schooling, his son found work as a bricklayer.

There is little detailed information about Charles’ early life, but in 1901 he married a woman called Lilian. They went on to have three children, and, by the time of the 1911 census, they had set up home at 47 Newland Road, Worthing.

Charles sought to make a better life for his family, and, on 31st January 1913, he boarded the SS Osterley, bound for Australia. He set up home at 1 Orange Lane, in Norwood, a suburb of Adelaide, and, at some point soon afterwards, Lilian and the children joined him.

War was declared in the summer of 1914, and the Empire was called on to play its part. On 28th March 1917, Charles enlisted, becoming a Private in the Australian Infantry. His service papers show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and weighed 154lbs (69.9kg). He was noted as having brown hair, hazel eyes and a medium complexion. He had two tattoos: one on his left forearm and another on his left hand.

After a few months’ training, Private Compton’s unit boarded the HMAT A30 from Adelaide, to make the journey back to Britain. His unit – the 10th Training Battalion – disembarked in Plymouth on 25th August 1917, and made its way to Larkhill Camp on the edge of Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.

Over the next few months, Private Compton undertook further training, and would be transferred to the 43rd Battalion of the Australian Infantry. On 30th May 1918 he was admitted to Hurdcott Hospital, near Fovant, Wiltshire, suffering from influenza. The condition would eventually prove fatal: Charles passed away on 2nd July, at the age of 36 years old.

There was another Military funeral locally on Saturday.

The deceased soldier in this case was Private Charles George Compton, and the place of interment was the Cemetery at Broadwater. Private Compton, a member of an old Worthing family… was a member of the Australian Force…

The deceased worked for the Corporation before leaving Worthing for Australia, where his wife and two children are now living.

[Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 10th July 1918]

Charles George Compton was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, not far from where his family were still living.

Private Charles Compton
(from findagrave.com)

Lilian was now thousands of miles from home and family. Grieving the loss of her husband, the communication from the Army on his passing would provide her with some comfort:

Thanking you for all your kindness in sending my husband things on to me. You don’t know how greatefull I feel when I received letters saying how kind the nurses all were to him through his illness. All I wishes I could have been their, but it was not to be. I now close thanking you all.

[Letter to battalion: 14th January 1919]

Lilian would move to Lincoln Street, Adelaide: her new home she would name Worthing after her home town.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, Middlesex, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class Robert Collett

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Stoker 1st Class Robert Collett

Robert William Collett was born on 20th April 1893 in Barnsbury, now part of Islington, Middlesex. Little information about his early life remains available – he does not feature on any census records – although later records confirm than his parents were called George and Sarah.

When he completed his schooling, Robert found work as a baker, but he had bigger and better things in mind. On 24th August 1911, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service papers show that he was 5ft 1.5ins (1.56m) tall, with dark brown hair and eyes, and a fresh complexion.

Stoker 2nd Class Collett was sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training. In February 1912, he was given his first assignment, on board the battleship HMS Berwick. She would be his home for the next year, during which time he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class.

After a further spell on shore, Robert transferred to another battleship, HMS Swiftsure. She would spend much of the war serving in the Mediterranean, with Stoker Collett on board. He seems to have had a rebellious nature, and this led to his time aboard Swiftsure not being smooth sailing.

During his time on the battleship Robert spent three separate period in the brig: three days in October 1914, and seven days in June 1915. In October that year, things came to a head, and he was convicted of threatening to strike an Engine Room Artificer. For this he was incarcerated again, for 42 days.

Stoker Collett left Swiftsure in May 1916, and transferred to another vessel, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse. After an eight-month stint on board, he returned to Chatham while waiting for a new posting. His time here was not without incident, however, and he was thrown in the brig for a further seven days for an unrecorded misdemeanour.

HMS Pembroke was overcrowded in the summer of 1917, and when he was released Stoker Collett was billeted in temporary accommodation in the dockyard’s Drill Hall.

By this point in the war, the German Air Force was looking to minimise daytime casualties, and was, instead, trialling night raids; on 3rd September, Chatham found itself in their flight path. The Drill Hall received a direct hit, and Stoker 1st Class Collett was killed, along with close to 100 others. He was just 24 years old.

The body of Robert William Collett was taken back to London for burial. He was laid to rest in Islington Cemetery, not far from where his parents were still living.

[Note: the photo above is of the memorial to the Chatham Air Raid victims, close to the mass grave for those whose bodies were not identified, in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.]

Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Frank Holloway

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Private Frank Holloway

Frank Roland Holloway was born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, early in 1896. One of five children, he was the only son to Frederick and Emily Holloway. Frederick was a general labourer, and by the turn of the century, the family had moved to Hilperton, Wiltshire.

When Frank completed his schooling he found work in a local cloth mill. The 1911 census record the family living on Marsh Road, Hilperton, with four – albeit meagre – wages coming into the household. Frederick was employed by the Anglo Swiss Milk Company as a labourer, while his daughter, Frank’s older sister Edith, was also working in the factory’s tin shop. Emily was helping other people with their laundry, bringing in a few extra pennies.

War broke out in the summer of 1914, and Frank would step up to play his part. His service papers show that he was employed as a rubber worker by this point, and that he was a volunteer with the local militia. He formally enlisted on the 20th February 1915, and was assigned to the 8th Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment as a Private.

Private Holloway remained with his unit for four months, before being discharged from military service, having contracted tuberculosis. Interestingly, his service papers include a statement from Frederick about his son’s health:

I am making an application on behalf of my son. He had been ill now for over 12 months. He served 2 years 175 days in 4th Wilts and 129 days in 8th Wilts. He had not any illness for some years and had been in good health and passed several military doctors for active service, but having left Salisbury Plain he came to Trowbridge where they slept in damp straw also under [a] bad roof in [an] old disused factory. He was a lad in good health and is now suffering with consumption.

Sadly, any response to Frederick’s request for compensation would come too late. Frank passed away on 21st June 1916: he was just 20 years of age.

The body of Frank Roland Holloway was laid to rest in St Paul’s Churchyard, in village of Staveron, the parish church for his home in Hilperton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Frederick Kyte

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Private Frederick Kyte

Frederick George Kyte was born on 23rd January 1899. The youngest of five children, his parents were Wiltshire-born market gardener John Kyte, and his wife, Esther. Frederick’s mother had been born in Chelsea, Middlesex, but it was in John’s home county where the family lived, on 16 Wine Street, Bradford-on-Avon.

Education was important to John and Esther. The 1911 census found his older brothers working a clerks, one to a rubber works, the other to a solicitor.

In his spare time, Frederick was a chorister and the local parish church, and was ‘an enthusiastic member of the Church Lads’ Brigade’ [Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 13th December 1919] When he completed his schooling, he also found work as a clerk, and was employed by a local insurance broker.

On 13th January 1915, Frederick joined the Wiltshire Regiment, and, as a Bugler, was attached to the 8th Battalion. He was only 15 years of age, but remained with the unit for the next two years, until he was invalided out of the army for medical reasons.

After some time he partially recovered, and resumed his occupation as an insurance agent, but took to his bed some three months ago.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 13th December 1919]

The lung condition Frederick had contracted would be the one to which he would ultimately succumb. He passed away in the family home on 7th December 1919, aged just 20 years old.

The body of Frederick George Kyte was laid to rest in the family plot in Bradford-on-Avon cemetery.

The newspaper report provides some further information about Frederick’s brothers. Both also served in the army, and both rose to the rank of Serjeant.

The eldest [Edward] is now with HM Forces in Palestine, whilst the younger, Herbert, who was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Military Medal for good work during the retreat, is demobilised.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 13th December 1919]

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Thomas Morris

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Private Thomas Morris

Thomas Morris was born on 12th November 1880 in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire. One of thirteen children, his parents were Henry and Eliza Morris. Henry was a chimney sweep, and this is a trade that Thomas would also go into, unsurprisingly, from a very young age. The family lived to the north of the town centre, initially at 57 Newtown, before moving round the corner to 5 Wine Street.

By the turn of the century, love was beckoning for Thomas. On 29th March 1903, he wed Annie Britten, a labourer’s daughter, who also lived on Wine Street. The marriage certificate noted that Thomas had changed jobs, and was employed as a labourer.

The 1911 census return shows the family home that had been set up. Henry and Eliza were still at Wine Street, although now at No. 44. Thomas and Annie were also living there, crammed into the four-roomed cottage with their four children as well. Henry was still working as a chimney sweep, while Thomas had found employment as maltster’s labourer.

Annie would go on to have six children in all, and when war broke out, she was left to raise the family with the help of her father-in-law (Eliza having passed in May 1914). Thomas enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment early on in the conflict and, according to later reports, had seen a lot of service on the Western Front. He survived the conflict, however, and returned to a base in the garrison town of Trowbridge, Wiltshire.

At the start of 1919, Private Morris came home on leave, but while there, he fell ill. He was admitted to the military hospital in Sutton Veny, also in Wiltshire, but succumbed to the influenza he had contracted. He passed away on 11th January 1919, aged the age of 38 years old.

The body of Thomas Morris was taken back to Bradford-on-Avon to be buried. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.

Annie was now a widow with children to raise. Henry had also passed away in 1918, and so she remarried, wedding William Bishop in December 1919. The couple went on to have a child of their own, Phyllis, in March 1921.

Annie would live a peaceful life, passing away in Trowbridge in 1943, at the age of 60.

Commonwealth War Graves, Engine Room Artificer, Essex, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Ireland, London, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class Charles Barlow

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Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class Charles Barlow

Charles Edward Barlow was born on 3rd January 1886, and was the second of eight children to John and Agnes. John was a Serjeant Major in the Royal Fusiliers, and his work meant the family moved a lot. Charles and his older brother were born in Dublin, Ireland, while Agnes gave birth to his younger siblings in Essex, Ireland, Hampshire and London.

John died in the late 1890s, and the 1901 census found Agnes and four of the children – including Charles – living at 18 Ethel Road, a small terraced cottage in the centre of Portsmouth, Hampshire. Agnes was listed as a shirt maker, while Charles was apprenticed to a boiler maker.

The apprenticeship obviously stood Charles in good stead, and he later found employment as the local dockyard, HMS Victory. The 1911 census recorded mother and son living at 124 Ernest Road, in the Buckland area of Portsmouth. Slightly further from where Charles was working, this was, however, a larger property.

A new opportunity presented itself in the spring of 1912, when Charles formally enrolled in the Royal Navy. His engineering background served him well, and he took the rank of Engine Room Artificer 4th Class. Initial training was provided at Portsmouth Dockyard, and he then moved to the neighbouring bases HMS Fisgard that autumn, and HMS Dryad in February 1913.

After a two month posting on board the torpedo gunboat HMS Harrier, Charles would return to shore in the summer of 1914. On 1st January 1915, however, he was assigned to the depot ship HMS Dido, and she would remain his home for nearly four years. During this time, he was promoted to Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class.

In the autumn of 1918, with the war in its final weeks, Charles fell ill. He was disembarked and admitted to the War Hospital in Bath, suffering from pneumonia. The condition would prove his undoing, and he passed away on 17th November: he was 32 years of age.

The body of Charles Edward Barlow was taken to Bradford-upon-Avon for burial, possibly due to a familial connection in the area, and he was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, Machine Gun Corps, photography, story, war, Wiltshire

Gunner George Elmes

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Gunner George Elmes

George Victor Jim Elmes was born in the autumn of 1897 in the village of Derry Hill, between Calne and Chippenham in Wiltshire. One of six children, his parents were Nelson and Hannah Elmes. Nelson was a shepherd, and when George completed his schooling, he found work as a labourer on the same farm. Money must have been tight, and the 1901 and 1911 census returns both show that the family had taken in boarders for a little extra.

There is little further documentation about George’s life. He would enlist in the Machine Gun Corps at some point after June 1917, and would undertake his training in Dorset.

The death took place at the Trowbridge Red Cross Hospital on Wednesday of Gunner George Elmes, Machine Gun Corps. Gunner Elmes, whose home is at Chippenham, was travelling thence from Bovington Cap on Monday when he was found to be seriously ill at Trowbridge. Dr Bond conveyed him to the hospital in his motor car, but he got rapidly worse and died on Wednesday. He was going to Chippenham to visit his mother, who is seriously ill.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 6th January 1917]

George Victor Jim Elmes died on 3rd January 1917: he was just 19 years of age. Hannah passed away soon after her son: she was 55 years old.

With two funerals to pay for, money must have been incredibly tight for Nelson and the rest of the family. While Hannah was buried locally, the body of George Elmes was laid to rest in Trowbridge Cemetery, not far from the hospital to which he had been taken when he fell ill.